Oh my they are the worst thing to ever have. There are so many things that can cause them - bad things from the pass - they can be from genes in you family tree - many many things. Some medications can cause the paranoia for some people also. I at times get a bit paranoid while having one and my head doctor stated its from so many terrible things in my history including an abusive childhood. When I was in Vietnam I would get them all the time and it just about drove crazy. Thats when I noticed the paranoia the most when I couldn't excape from things and felt cornered and had an enclosed feeling which I surely had. I had the flight to run experience that can come from these attacks also. Everyone of my sisters and brothers - my mother - and my deceased dad had them. When I joined the police dept. they subsided and are almost gone now as long as I am in control of my surroundings and whats going on now. Oh man the thought of not being able to seat in a chair and watch tv without one of these attacks happening would almost drive me nuts and the thing is nothing was on my mind that should have caused me to have one. People have been known to give themselves a heart attacks from having one of these attacks so like the one person stated take these attacks very seriously. I could go on and on but the worst time I had was while in nam and the only way I made it through was to stay high while out on a mission leading a recon patrol "everyone was anyway" they had to be to just convince yourself if it was your turn you surely didn't want it on your mind. I feel for anyone that has these terrible attacks like I stated mine are all but gone now but at times I can just feel a hint of one coming on in the back of my mind that when I get busey and fast.

I wish you the best and I feel for you truley, cheers

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I added this below after my first reply............

 

I wanted to add some experience's if thats ok and you should not say your sorry for such a serious topic you are not alone many people have them. I started having mine when I reached approx. age of 17 while in the service only to have them leave and return again when I was about 32 years old. My sister and brothers didn't start having these attacks untill 40 to 60 years old somewhere inbetween for all of them. There is something in the brain that triggers things from the past to survice and sometimes these panic attacks come with them. Its like being cared such as a little kid but not knowing why because we are adults now and we should be able to control our thoughts and feelings at least to some degree but I was not able to.  But with these attacks its as if this strange feeling of being scared "for lack of a better way of putting it" just arises and takes over your thought process and there is nothing at times to control the feelings from these attacks. Sometimes getting busy will help over ride them but sometimes they would make me want to just scream or even cry for no reason at times. I have talked to my brothers and sister about theirs and they are pretty much the same as mind but not exactly. My sisters come on when she is driving a car and she has never been in an accident and always loved to drive. My two brothers are also police officers but theirs seem to come on when they have experienced something on their jobs and it the experience might take months to come out but not always. They also can be sitting watching tv and have the attacks come on. We all are on medication for this problem and all I have been told is its a chemical imbalance and with medication it can help. My sisters after having hers for almost ten years are starting to let up to where she only had one about once a month and she is now 59 and my other two brothers are less now also. The thing is there is no advance notice but its as though when a person is relaxed they seem for most anyway to start up. Thats when I was in nam I could be melo-ed out and even at that one would start up so I would get up and head out on a mission just to make what I was facing worse then the panic attack could be. No its not from being afraid either this is totally different these feelings haunt a person and these feelings are so real its as of a nightmare has just starting up but you have no control over reality. I also recall when these attacks come on they can make the simplest problem seem like the end of the world. I do not know if I helped you at all but I wish you the best like I stated above.